Florida Backyard Snakes

Snakes of Florida

Michael L Dye Daniel D Dye II

Florida has
an abundance of snake species (about 50, but who's counting). Out of the
50 species only 6 are venomous. So that would leave 44 species and
subspecies that are non-venomous and harmless, unless you break your leg or
neck trying to get away from one.

You may not
want to hear this however, all snakes are beneficial. "No way"
you say. That's right, they eat insects, rats, mice, worms, toads, frogs,
fish and some, like Indigos and Kingsnakes, eat other snakes including the
venomous ones. They help keep the ecosystem they live in at a good
balance.

Now, I'm no radical environmentalist tree-hugging nut however, I've been blessed with some good Ole
common sense. So I say, having snakes around is a good thing. I
realize that some of you are scared to death of them. Just give them a
healthy distance and leave them alone, they'll probably just slither away and
go eat a rat or something.

If you're curious as to what kind of snake you've
found in your backyard and you haven't killed it, click on either the venomous
or non-venomous link below and check them out.